


almost

by falloutmars



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-27 04:41:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20942432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falloutmars/pseuds/falloutmars
Summary: jughead meets betty on the first day of college. his life changes. for better or for worse?





	1. Chapter 1

Jughead meets Betty on the first day of college during their very first joint lecture on journalism. She looks very nervous and he instantly feels sorry for her, wanting to make her feel better. So he sits next to her, quietly, like he does best. 

And Betty being Betty - as Jughead learns over the months - makes polite conversation with him. They immediately hit it off, having many things in common including their shared love of reading and true crime. 

They become friends, very good friends actually. They quickly start to spend almost every waking minute together. Studying, chilling, eating. 

Jughead can no longer remember his life without her. And he doesn’t want to. She’s an enigma to say the least. An enigma in a way that Jughead cannot help but be intrigued by. He’s an aspiring journalist, after all. He wants to unravel the mystery that is Betty Cooper. So he makes it his target. 

Within the first few months of friendship, he does well. She slowly starts to open up to him. Walls he could see how delicately she’d built up over the years begin to come down brick by brick. 

They continue to grow closer and closer. Jughead slowly starts to feel himself fall for her as he learns more. He knows it’s a dangerous path, but he can’t help it. Every time she lets him in, everything he finds out about her, he falls a little bit more. He thinks the world of her.

She thinks the world of him too, he’s sure of it. But not in the same way. He’s sure of that too. Which is why he decides to live with it. Betty doesn’t need to know. There is no way he could ever lose her. They need each other. So Jughead puts his feelings to the back of his head and heart. 

For months, this works perfectly. She doesn’t suspect anything; he keeps her in his life. They’re both happy. They continue to spend most of their time together inside and outside of college. Everything is great. Until one day it’s not.

It’s nearing the end of their first year of college when Jughead can see signs of Betty distancing herself from him. She declines his invitations to hang out more often than not. He’s hopeful that she’s just busy, like she says, but then he sees her with people he recognises from their class.

Next lecture, she walks past the empty seat next to him that she usually occupies to sit with some nameless person. Jughead can see her attempt not to make eye contact with him, but she still risks a small glance in his direction. He gives her a small, sad smile but nothing is returned.

Trying to maintain at least some of their friendship, Jughead continues to invite her over to study or out to eat like they’d done since day one. Surely she can be friends with him as well as other people, right?

During the last days of Freshman year, Jughead overhears Betty taking to her new friends about a party that Friday to celebrate the end of year. Of course Jughead hasn’t been invited, but he thinks to himself that this might be the last opportunity to salvage what’s left of his and Betty’s friendship. 

So on Friday evening, he finds himself at his first ever party.

He’s never been a popular person, never been invited to parties. But he likes it that way. Being alone suits him. Well, it did until Betty came along. And now alone is the worst thing he can think of.

Which is why he is here. To find Betty. To fix what they have before it’s too late.

If it isn’t too late already.

He doesn’t know anyone at this party, not officially anyway. He recognises faces from class and around college, but no one notices him, no one talks to him. Still, he prefers it that way. 

Wandering around a different house full of drunk strangers is not one of Jughead’s favourite activities. Or one he’s had much experience with. To put it bluntly, he’s way out of his depth. But focused as always, he puts his mind to the task at hand: finding Betty.

He walks up and down stairs and random corridors only to find more drunk people who don’t even look at him. Eventually he finds himself in the back garden of this house. It’s quieter out here, much to Jughead’s surprise. And that’s when he spots her.

She’s alone, luckily. Facing away from him. But he can tell that she looks beautiful. She always does look beautiful. 

As he walks closer, he hears her quietly sobbing. 

“Betty?” he asks softly, not wanting to scare her.

She jumps anyway.

Immediately, she turns away from him. Still, he gets a glimpse of her face and the tears break his heart. He hopes he isn't the cause of it; he knows he most likely is.

Jughead tried to plan what he’d say if he found her tonight, but eventually he gave up. He isn’t one to believe in fate, but maybe it’ll be on his side tonight. 

Or, maybe not.

“Jughead,” she spits. “Leave me alone.”

He’s a bit taken aback by how angry with him she sounds. It’s the first time he’s seen her like this. He doesn’t know what to do. So Jughead does what he does best: stays quiet. But he doesn’t leave.

He feels awkward. For the first time since the day they met, the silence between them is uncomfortable and Jughead doesn’t know how to fix it. 

And then after a few minutes, she turns around to face him. And she’s beautiful. She’s in a long, pale grey, angelic dress and Jughead isn’t sure she’s ever looked so perfect. He wants to tell her.

Before his brain catches up, the words come tumbling out of his mouth. “You look beautiful tonight, Betty.”

But how can he feel guilty for simply telling her the truth when the smile she gives him negates her tear-stained cheeks and still-watery eyes? 

It’s like she forgets that she’s angry with him, forgets any possible reason why she was upset. Because he does something he doesn’t think he’s that good at: make her smile. (In reality, he’s very good at it.)

Something must switch inside her because she’s no longer smiling at him and the tears are building up again. She’s still staring at him, like she _ wants _ him to say or do something. But he doesn’t know what. He never does. 

This time, he doesn’t stay quiet.

This time, he says something.

“I’ve missed you these past few weeks, Betty.”

Tears fall from her eyes but she says nothing. So he tries again.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong?” He’s almost pleading with her.

Still nothing.

He wants to give up. Usually, he would. But not tonight, and never with Betty.

“Please talk to me. I just want my best friend back.”

She snaps. 

“We were never _ just friends_, Jughead, and you fucking know it. Or I thought you knew it. But you never did anything about it.”

He blinks in surprise. She doesn’t give him enough time to reply.

“We spent so much time together but every time I thought you were finally going to say something. I waited and waited but you never did.” She doesn’t sound angry anymore, just hurt and upset. “It was killing me everyday to have you continue to be _ just my friend _ when it was obvious to anyone who looked that we were so much more than that.” 

She pauses for a few seconds. She watches him intensely as tears silently fall down his cheeks.

He stays silent. So she continues.

“I couldn’t keep doing that. To myself or to you. And I couldn’t say anything. You know me, I rarely speak about my feelings. So here I am. At a party of some girl I barely know, trying to move on from the boy I thought I loved, alone in the garden and crying because of that same boy.” 

Jughead stands still, staring at her with teary eyes. He wants to stay quiet. His immediate reaction is to stay quiet. He’s _ good _ at staying quiet. But how can he? After everything she has just said, how can he simply stay quiet?

But what does he say? 

The girl he has seeming unrequited feelings for just told him that she _ thought _ she loved him. 

His brain whirls with thoughts and feelings, attempting to come up with something to say. He realises he needs to say something, anything, rather quickly as Betty looks like she’s ready to walk away from him for good. 

“Betty,” he says. “I- I’m so sorry. I swear, I had no idea. I thought- I just thought it would be best not to say anything.”

As he expects, she doesn’t say anything but he can see tears silently falling as she avoids eye contact with him. He brings a hand up to her face to wipe away a tear, before resting it on her shoulder in an effort to be comforting. 

Taking a deep breath, he continues his attempt at saying something. 

“The past few months have been the best of my whole life and _ you _ did that, Betty. You.”

She looks up, making eye contact with him for the first time this evening.

He continues. “I started to feel something I’d never felt before. I started to fall for you and it terrified me. And then I thought ‘Why would someone as amazing as you ever feel that way about someone like me?’. So I convinced myself that you didn’t, that you never would. But I’m so stupid, aren’t I? I was so busy being scared that I missed what was right in front of me.”

As he speaks, she cries more and more. His hand moves back up to cup her face, wiping away all the tears he causes her to shed. 

They never break eye contact.

This time, Betty opens her mouth to speak, but Jughead interrupts her. 

“Let me say one more thing, please?” She nods. “I love you, Betty. I love you so much. And I know it’s not what you want to hear right now but I need you to know that I think you’re the only one I could ever truly love.”

He knows he’s probably said too much, but he’s glad it’s out there now. Regardless of how she reacts, he thinks he’s done the right thing. Not only has he told her, he’s admitted the truth to himself too.

Jughead Jones loves Betty Cooper.

For the first time, he has hope that she loves him too.

But maybe his hopes have been misplaced.

“This _ is _ what I wanted to hear.” Her voice wobbles as she speaks. “Just not now, not here. I wanted to hear this months ago, Jughead.“

“I’m sorry,” he tries, but she shuts him down.

“It’s too late. I can’t do this right now. I go home for summer tomorrow and I need it to be a break from all this.”

He nods his understanding.

“Maybe we can try again when I get back.”

Watching her walk away may be the hardest Jughead’s ever done.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> very brief self harm and alcoholism mentions

The summer passes too slowly. Jughead spends almost every waking minute thinking about Betty and their last conversation. Her last words to him replay in his head over and over like a broken record.

_ Maybe we can try again when I get back. _

And then she walked off. And he didn’t go after her. He simply stood there and watched her. 

He spends weeks being angry at himself but eventually realises that it isn’t worth it. Nothing would’ve changed the outcome of that fateful night. Going after her could’ve made everything worse. She wanted a break for everything. She _ wants _ a break. So a break is what she will get.

—

Ah.

Jughead tries so hard to leave her alone. But he misses her, he misses her so much and it’s been weeks since they’ve spoken. So he thinks _ a text won’t hurt_. 

(In other words, he caves. Love makes him weak, apparently.) 

J: Hey, Betty. I know you wanted a break for everything over the summer, but I just want to check on you. How are you doing? I miss you.<strike> I love you.</strike>

He sends the text and can’t decide between wanted to throw his phone out the window or sit staring at it waiting for a reply.

In reality, he does neither. He turns his phone to silent, places it face-down on the old coffee table of his childhood trailer home, and puts on some shitty daytime TV. He hates shitty daytime TV and he hates his shitty childhood home, but he also hates being at college without Betty, so here he is. Friendless, avoiding his alcoholic, gang member father, pining for his possibly former best friend. 

Jughead successfully mopes around without looking at his phone for 27 minutes. Longer than he thought he’d manage. He flips over the phone, allowing it to light up. It shows his lock screen - a rare photo of him and Betty from a trip to the beach they took together - and no notifications. 

Sighing, he taps the screen to look at the photo again. It’s a lovely photo, his favourite actually. They both look so carefree and happy. He thinks back to that day and finally realises what she meant when she said _ it was obvious to anyone who looked that we were so much more than _just friends. 

_ It’s a hot day during spring break. They both stayed at college instead of going back to their separate hometowns. Not wanting to leave each other but never admitting it out loud, they both have excuses for staying put. So, to celebrate the break, they take a day trip to the nearest beach. _

_ Betty drives the 2 hours to the coast, with promises of Jughead taking the way back. They listen to Betty’s shitty pop playlist, much to Jughead’s disgust, but of course he puts up with it. They talk about everything and nothing, he listens to Betty sing badly and Jughead simply feels happy. _

_ They arrive at the beach and head down to set up for the day. Betty picks a spot and unrolls their towels while Jughead begins unpacking their food. Of course he wants to eat before doing anything else. _

_ And so they do. Sitting closer than necessary, both for the heat and their status as _ just friends_, they eat sandwiches Betty made and cake Jughead bought from the local shop. Betty points out boats and birds and Jughead makes up stories about unsuspecting visitors around them. _

_ After lunch, they take a walk along the seafront. Betty insists they drop the bags back to the car, making Jughead laugh at her but inevitably give in. _

_ As they walk along the seafront, their hands brush. Impulsively, Jughead grabs her hand and threads his fingers through hers. Much to his surprise, she turns to him, smiles and squeezes his hand. He smiles back. _

_ (It takes awhile for his heart to return to its normal rate.) _

Remembering that day, Jughead realises just how blind he’s been. No wonder Betty thought he was going to confess. He even thought about doing so on that day, but decided against it, not wanting to ruin their amazing time. 

Wow. He feels stupid.

During his short time reminiscing, his phone screen went black. He wants to look at the photo again. He wants to feel how he felt on that day again. He wants Betty again. 

He rubs at his eyes, willing tears not to fall. 

He sighs. _ Fuck it_. He taps the screen. No one’s around to see him after all. This time, the photo is obscured by two text notifications.

B: Hey. It’s definitely not the relaxing break I wanted. Family’s a nightmare as always and I’m actually looking forward to getting back to college. 

4 minutes after the first, a second text was sent.

B: For the record, I miss you too.

Jughead can’t help the massive grin that spreads over his face. God, he can’t wait to see her again. 

He quickly types a reply, hoping for some kind of conversation with her. 

J: Ah, I’m sorry to hear that. When are you going back to college? Maybe we could do something before class starts again to make up for your shitty break? 

As soon as he clicks send, Jughead realises how risky that is. They haven’t spoken since that night. What if she doesn’t want to still be friends? What if she doesn’t want to hang out? What if he’s just made things worse? 

The rational side of his brain reminds him of her message. _ For the record, I miss you too. _ She wouldn’t say it if she didn’t mean it. He knows her. 

Before his irrational thoughts can get too out of control, his phone lights up once more with a reply. 

B: I planned on returning the Saturday before class starts but I think I might go a week earlier. If you’re around that week, maybe we could take another trip to the beach. 

He smiles. Again. She has that effect on him. He’s just happy that she still wants to talk to him. Maybe his hopes weren’t misplaced after all. 

J: I’ll be around that week. A trip to the beach would be very nice. I was actually thinking about the last one earlier and I can see how much of an idiot I was. I’m sorry for messing you around, Betty. 

Wow. That text is even more risky than the last and didn’t he know it. 

To stop himself from spiralling once more, Jughead decides to take a walk. He needs to get out of this place anyway. So he turns off the TV he wasn’t even watching, pockets his phone and walks out the door. Silently, he promises himself that he won’t look at his phone until he gets back.

When he gets outside, he takes a right towards the river. The river is the perfect place to think, that’s what he needs right now. 

As he walks along the river, he thinks about his life here before he left for college, before he met Betty. He thinks about the day his mom left, the last time he saw JB, the last time he had a proper conversation with his dad. He thinks about how shit growing up here was and he thinks about how much better life has been at college.

He thinks about a lot. But mostly, he thinks about Betty. He remembers the day, only a couple of weeks into their friendship, when they both first shared the heartbreak of their respective childhoods. 

She told him everything. From her controlling mother to her loving father turned serial killer. From her unsupportive friends to her secret self-harm habit. 

In return, he told her everything too. His alcoholic father. His mother leaving, taking his younger sister. The gang he was a part of in high school. The same gang his father still leads to this day. 

They both had awful childhoods in different ways, but with that, they bonded. They formed a connection. Jughead hopes it’s an unbreakable one. 

—

Almost an hour later, Jughead returns to his house. He unlocks the door and to no ones surprise, his father isn’t in. He grabs a snack from the fridge and makes his way to his old room. 

Deciding he’s finally avoided the conversation with Betty for long enough, Jughead pulls his phone out of his pocket.

_ 3 new messages _

_ 1 missed call _

B: Hey are you around to chat on the phone?

[Missed call from Betty]

B: I’m sorry, you’re probably busy.

B: You have nothing to be sorry about though. I was also an idiot and I was unfair on you at the party. Maybe ring me later if you have a chance? 

Immediately, Jughead is filled with guilt. The last message is from 49 minutes ago. God, he hopes he hasn’t made Betty feel awful for that long. 

He phones her back. 

The ringing of the line mocks him. _ Ring ring ring_.

She picks up on the eighth ring. 

“Jug? Jug!”

He smiles. “Hey, Betts.”

“I’m so happy to hear your voice, Jug. I’m sorry for how we left things before break.” He could hear a slight sadness in her voice. Oh what he’d do to hug her in this moment.

“I promise you, it’s all in the past now. But for the record, I’m sorry too.” He tries not to sound too nervous when he adds “I’ve really missed you, Betty.”

“I’ve really missed you too,” she whispers. “I can’t wait to see you again.”

Jughead runs his hand through his hair, pushing his beanie off. He can’t bring himself to care, though, he’s just so happy to be talking to her again.

“Only a couple of weeks now,” he says. “I can’t wait either.”

He can almost hear her grin when she replies with, “So, this trip to the beach then?” 

—

Two and a half weeks later, Jughead once again finds himself on the way to the beach with Betty. 

Just like before, she made sandwiches and he bought cake. Just like before, she drives the journey there and he promises to drive the way back. Just like before, she plays her shitty pop playlist and he puts up with it with a smile on his face. 

But unlike before, he isn’t scared of his feelings. Unlike before, he won’t hide his love for her anymore. Unlike before, he isn’t worried if she feels the same.

They walk along the seafront after lunch. They’re hand in hand, on purpose this time. Betty keeps looking over at him, smiling. He can tell that she’s just as happy he is.

He buys her ice cream and they sit on the sand with the sun beaming down on them. They talk and laugh until the sun begins to go down. 

On the walk back to the car, Betty stops them to watch the sunset together. He watches her as she watches the sky. _ She’s beautiful_.

She looks over at him, smiling once more. 

He catches her off guard as he finally leans in to kiss her. 

She kisses back. 

The moment is perfect in every way. 

As they pull apart, Jughead rests his forehead against hers. 

“I know it’s probably too early,” he whispers nervously. “But... I love you, Betty. I think I’ve loved you since the day we met.”

“Juggie,” she says softly. “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gave these 2 the happy ending they deserve. i hope you enjoyed it :)

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! 
> 
> i’m thinking about doing a part 2 to give them the happy ending they deserve. let me know if you’d like to read that.
> 
> this fic was based off the dialogue prompt: “We’re not just friends and you fucking know it.”


End file.
